How much is a newborn baby worth to economy?

Pursuant to one of today’s previous posts, this article from the Korea Herald has a much better title and the article also makes more sense.

A person generates production value of 1.22 billion won ($1.03 million) and 1.15 jobs through spending and working for an entire lifetime, a government report found yesterday.

The Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs conducted research from May to November to study the short-term economic impact of childbirth in several stages of a person’s lifetime.

“It has been widely predicted that a falling birthrate could weaken the nation’s growth potential in the long run. However, it was the first time that its short-term impact on the economy has been analyzed at the national level,” said a ministry official.

The average birthrate here is 1.19 as of last year, the lowest in the world.

In early childhood, a person creates a production value of 44 million won and 0.168 job in the fields related to medical and childcare services, the report said.

During the school years from elementary school to university, the figures are 2.29 billion won in production value and 0.717 job which were found to be generated in the education and publication industries.

As an individual enters adulthood and gets married, 3.93 billion won in production value and 0.067 new job are created, the report said.

Even after retiring, a person generates 2.17 billion won in production value and 0.065 new job through medical, recuperation and leisure activities, according to the report.

In the analysis report, a child’s birth was expected to make the most new jobs in the education industry while generating the largest production in medical services.

Considering the nation’s economic activity rate at 61.3 percent as of September, an employed person generates an additional 0.53 job, which means one new job per every two births.

However, the report predicted a job loss of 0.019 when a woman quits her job after marriage and childbirth

“If the birth rate continues falling, it will trigger problems in short-term job creation as well as in future economic vitality. Its impact seems to be serious, especially on the industries related to preschool children,” said Kim Hyun-sook, professor of Soongsil University who co-authored the report.

According to the report, if the birth rate increases 5 percent, nearly 3,700 new jobs and 970 billion won would be generated during the preschool period alone.

“The report was written based on conservative estimation. So, the research results reflect the minimum economic impact of childbirth,” Kim added.